Thursday, August 21, 2014

If you are a parent, or have advise for parents… What do you do (or think would work) to foster the love of reading to your kids?

As a mom I try to find about things my kids are already interested in. This is always easy with Nonfiction books with my little ones. For instance my three girls are obsessed with all things bugs, and/or animals so these are what I get for them:

Fiction books are a bit harder with my kids for some reason. I try to keep them interested by doing different voices for each character, eating snacks that the characters eat in the book, and also if there is a movie version we always celebrate finishing a book with movie night.

This summer we read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Yes, this book is exciting, but when you are dealing with a 5, 7, and 9 year old I have to bring out a few surprises to keep everyone paying attention. So when Harry and Ron got chocolate frogs with a wizard card my kids got the same.

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

When I was in 7th grade I had the most amazing English teacher in the world. I WAS NOT a reader at that point in my life, but when we studied The Hobbit he made that book come alive to me. This man would read The Hobbit to us and do all the voices for the different characters. I got so into it I went out and used all my babysitting money on the collectors edition of The Hobbit.

I have now re-read The Hobbit many times. I never forgot that English class or the teacher (Who is no longer a teacher, but an actual ghost hunter.) that opened the world of fantasy books up to me. I still have the map that was handed out with the runic we all had to learn.

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

If you were/are an English Teacher, share with us your dream lesson plan as far as reading assignments.

So, the more I think about it the more I am thinking you want like a list of books I would assign if I were a teacher (I’m guessing Harry Potter is going to be a big answer in that case, as it should be;)), however I’m going to go a different rout.

When I was in school I had an English teacher who made us act out a scene from whatever book we where studying at the time, not only that, we had to make the situation fit into our everyday lives. Now being a shy girl I did have a hard time being up in front of the class, but at the same time the books I studied in that class are still some of my favorites! I think it’s because I had to take the time to truly comprehend the story to turn it around into something I could act out in front of my classmates. If I where to ever become a teacher I would assign my students to do something along those lines.

On a warm summer morning in North Carthage, Missouri, it is Nick and Amy Dunne’s fifth wedding anniversary. Presents are being wrapped and reservations are being made when Nick’s clever and beautiful wife disappears. Husband-of-the-Year Nick isn’t doing himself any favors with cringe-worthy daydreams about the slope and shape of his wife’s head, but passages from Amy's diary reveal the alpha-girl perfectionist could have put anyone dangerously on edge. Under mounting pressure from the police and the media—as well as Amy’s fiercely doting parents—the town golden boy parades an endless series of lies, deceits, and inappropriate behavior. Nick is oddly evasive, and he’s definitely bitter—but is he really a killer?

Gone Girl book trailer

Review

I don’t quite know how to feel about Gone Girl. It left me feeling a little confused, a little lost.

There was so much good in Gone Girl. I really enjoyed the first part of the book. I wasn’t sure about Nick…I liked him and I didn’t at the same time. He was a little shady, but likeable, but I just didn’t trust him. I liked that Flynn didn’t just lay it all out there, that there was a lot of unknowns. I also really liked the diary entries from Amy’s POV. I feel that they gave major insight into things.

And then there’s the woodshed. And everything that happens after it. And it’s, well, strange. Things take a very, incredibly unusual path. Not paranormal or sci-fi. There’s no time travel, or portals to other worlds. But either of those plotlines would have been more relatable than what Flynn wrote. I just don’t get it. I still, days later, haven’t wrapped my mind around it.

And there’s no closure. At all.

I ranted about this book for days after completing it. And, honestly, I’m still not 100% sure how I feel about it.

Monday, August 18, 2014

It’s time to stand up in front of the class and share with us a little bit about you!

Hi y’all! I’m Rebecca. I live in the upstate of South Carolina. I started Bending the Spine back in April of 2011 and still enjoy working on it with my husband, Richie, who also loves reading and writing reviews.

That’s us being lovey-dovey.

As much as I love escaping into the world of whatever book I am reading I love my real life just as much, if not more. I am a stay at home mom to three fun little girls.

Yep, those are my favorite people in the world. They make my life exciting.

When I’m not blogging, reading, being an awesome wife or mommy-ing, I am probably feeding my unhealthy obsession with all things makeup and nail polish. In fact, if I could go back to when I started blogging I would name my blog Polished Pages. That way I could combine two of my loves.

Yeah, I’m just a little in love with doing my nails.

So, that is just a little about me. I am so excited to hop through and read about everyone else!

Beloved by millions the world over, Pride & Prejudice is delightfully transformed in this bold, new manga adaptation. All of the joy, heartache, and romance of Jane Austen's original, perfectly illuminated by the sumptuous art of manga-ka Po Tse, and faithfully adapted by Stacy E. King.

Review

As many of you know I am a long time fan of Pride and Prejudice. While I have read the original tale two times, adaptations and movie versions of P&P have gotten me through many hard moments in my life. When I got the NetGalley email that they had this manga form I jumped at the chance to experience this story in a new form.

What I liked

The art to accompany this manga by Po Tse is stunning. It went along with the classic Pride and Prejudice tale so well and really added to the story line in this re-write.

(A scene with all the sisters together. Copied from my ARC.)

For the most part everything I love experiencing in P&P is recaptured in this manga. I was very pleasantly surprised to read a lot of the original dialog to go along with the amazing artwork. I also wasn’t sure if the relationships between the characters would come across in this form, but it did. I fell in love with them all again.

What I didn’t like

I could sit here and dissect all the tiny inaccuracies of the original P&P, but honestly I was able to read this without all the nit picky things getting on my nerves. I enjoyed this manga for what it was.

Should you go get a copy?

Yes! If you are a P&P fan like me I think you will enjoy this story all over again in a new way. If you have always wanted to try reading P&P and just didn’t think you could get through the classic give this a try. I don’t think you will be disappointed.

A bad boy wrapped in a sexy, muscled, grown-up package might be worth a little risk…

Molly Webster has always followed the rules. After an ugly scandal tore apart her childhood and made her the focus of the media’s harsh spotlight, she vowed to live an ordinary life. No fame. No impropriety. No pain. Then she meets Zachary Fox, a tattooed bad boy rocker with a voice like whiskey and sin, and a touch that could become an addiction.

A one-night stand with the hottest rock star on the planet, that’s all it was meant to be…

Fox promises scorching heat and dangerous pleasure, coaxing Molly to extend their one-night stand into a one-month fling. After that, he’ll be gone forever, his life never again intersecting with her own. Sex and sin and sensual indulgence, all with an expiration date. No ties, no regrets. Too late, Molly realizes it isn’t only her body that’s become addicted to Fox, but her heart…

Seriously y’all I am so excited for this! I have Rock Addiction and plan on starting it soon:) I am completely unashamed to say that I stalk Nalini’s blog on the regular just for any new book news or teasers she may have put out.

NEW YORK TIMES AND USA Today bestselling author of the Psy-Changeling and Guild Hunter series Nalini Singh usually writes about hot shapeshifters and dangerous angels. This time around, she decided to write about a hot and wickedly tempting rock star. If you’re seeing a theme here, you’re not wrong.

Nalini lives and works in beautiful New Zealand, and is passionate about writing. If you’d like to explore her other books, you can find lots of excerpts on her website. Slave to Sensation is the first book in the Psy-Changeling series, while Angels’ Blood is the first book in the Guild Hunter series. Once Rock Addiction is out, swing by the site to check out the special behind-the-scenes page, complete with photos of many of the locations used in the book.

Thursday, August 14, 2014

That’s right, Richard and I are back! We had an amazing summer spending time with our family, having lots of mini vacations, binging way to much on Netflix, and reading lots of fun things.

Although we did have a great summer we missed you. As you can see we have a new look… There may be more cosmetic changes to come, we are still working out the kinks. We should have it all worked out in the next week or two…

And hopefully I wont delete any more awesome comments Why yes, I am technology stupid. Thank God I don’t have to be a genius to read

I can’t wait to see what you all have been up to!
Happy reading, blogging, and living. See you tomorrow.